The Mason-bees 



with the honey-smeared straw and gets rid of 

 it at a distance, after flying over the plane- 

 tree. 



This is where things begin to get compli- 

 cated. I have said that, when the time comes 

 for laying, the Mason-bee arrives with a pel- 

 let of mortar wherewith immediately to make 

 a door to the house. The insect with its front 

 legs resting on the rim. Inserts Its abdomen in 

 the cell; It has the mortar ready in Its mouth. 

 Having laid the egg, it comes out and turns 

 round to block the door. I wave it away for 

 a second, at the same time planting my straw 

 as before, a straw sticking out for nearly a 

 centimetre.^ What will the Bee do? Will 

 she, who Is scrupulous In ridding the home of 

 the least mote of dust, extract this beam, 

 which would certainly prove the larva's un- 

 doing by interfering with its growth? She 

 could, for just now we saw her drag out and 

 throw away, at a distance, a similar beam. 



She could and she doesn't. She closes the 

 cell, cements the lid, seals up the straw in the 

 thickness of the mortar. More journeys are 

 taken, not a few, in search of the cement re- 



*,39 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 182 



